Prior art that teaches and describes related methods and/or devices include but are not limited to the following:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,618,284 and 4,537,193 to Sand entitled “Collagen shrinkage”;
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,854,320 and 4,672,969 to Dew entitled “Tissue welding”;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,589,235 to Wong and Sobol entitled “Cartilage shaping”;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,216 to Anderson entitled “Wound Healing”;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,873 to Paolini entitled “Laser Lipolysis”;
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,985,027 and 5,102,410 to Dressel entitled “Soft Tissue aspiration”;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,955 to Rosen entitled “Microwave aided liposuction”;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,973 to Cucin entitled “Power assisted liposuction”;
Wong et al; “Thermo-Optical response of cartilage during feedback controlled laser-assisted reshaping.” SPIE vol. 2975, pp. 310-315. (1997);
Chao et al; “Viability of Porcine Nasal Septal Grafts Following Nd:YAG (?=1.32 um) Laser Radiation”, SPIE vol 3914, 543-552 (2000);
Bass et al; “Laser Tissue Welding: A comprehensive review of current and future clinical applications.” Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 17:315-349 (1995);
Poppas et al: “Temperature controlled laser photocoagulation of soft tissue: In vivo evaluation using a tissue welding model” Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 18:335-344 (1996); and
Cilesiz et al: “Controlled temperature tissue fusion: Argon laser welding of canine intestine in vitro.” Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 18: 325-344 (1996).
Sand teaches a method of collagen shrinkage. He does not teach deliberate or precise shaping of the collagen nor does he teach that the tissue becomes pliable and can be formed into shapes determined by other mechanisms than the mechanical stresses from shrinkage of the collagen fibrils. He does not teach that the partially denatured collagen can be moved and bonded to other areas of collagen. He does not teach the use of fat cells to change the shape of skin.
Dew teaches the use of the 1320 nm YAG laser to heat collagenous tissue to join severed tissue and close wounds. He only teaches to repair tissue, not to mold and create new shapes. He does not teach the use of fat cells to assist in the shaping. Dew teaches the use of electronically controlled temperature feedback devices but his devices are not percutaneous.
Wong and Sobol teach the heating and shaping of cartilage using laser or RF devices. They do not teach use of material from other tissue areas or use fat to assist in the shaping. Cartilage is not found in dermal tissue.
Anderson teaches to denature only a fraction of each collagen fibril to stimulate re-attachment of a wound. He does not teach moving collagen around or to use fat for shaping.
Paolini teaches to melt fat with a laser. He does not teach the denaturation, cross-linking or remodeling of collagen or the ability to reshape the tissue with intact fat cells.
Dressel teaches to cut fat with a laser suction device and does not describe or relate to collagen or molding.
Rosen and Cucin teach fat removal via heating devices and do not describe or relate to collagen or tissue molding.
Other prior art teaches stimulating the generation of new collagen with a variety of optical, electromagnetic, and cosmetic means. U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,914 issued Sep. 3, 2002 to Constantino teaches the use of ultrasound to build additional fibrous tissue through the normal body repair mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,027 issued Jan. 15, 1991 to Dressel teaches a soft tissue aspiration device and method of use. However, the laser delivery tip of the optical fiber laser device is protected within the distal tip of the cannula, and there is no extension of the firing tip of the optical fiber beyond the distal tip of the cannula. Thus, this patent is limited to a contained tip configuration.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,470,216 issued Oct. 22, 2002 to Knowlton teaches the use of a radio frequency generator to heat and ablate sub-dermal fat and regenerate collagen for skin tightening. RF energy is known to be highly absorbed in fatty tissue.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,673,096 issued Jan. 6, 2004 to Lach teaches the simultaneous delivery of infrared laser radiation in the range of 650 to 1295 nm and massage devices. It is specifically stated that the objective of the invention is to heat deep layers of tissue and cause lipolysis or decomposition of fatty tissue. This range of wavelengths may heat the fatty tissue but not target the connective collagen as in the present invention. In addition, it is not stated that any fluence levels are required and may be trying to perform bio-stimulation with low-level radiation. The present invention clearly requires adequately high fluence levels to shrink or denature collagen and does not require bio-stimulation to be effective.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,605,080 issued Aug. 12, 2003 to Altshuler et al. teaches a method of selectively targeting fatty tissue while avoiding damage to tissue for the purpose of fat removal. The present invention proposes exactly the opposite in order to alter the collagen containing connective tissue, which is the true cause of cellulite and adipose tissue. Altshuler et al. teaches that the optical absorption spectra of fatty tissue is very different from the absorption spectra of surrounding tissue because of the presence of vibrational modes in the molecules of lipids that form fatty tissue. Since both fatty tissue and water based tissue such as collagen can both be found in the same parts of the skin, the difference in these two optical absorption spectra allows a way to selectively target only one of the types of tissue while reducing the heat absorbed by the other; and henceforth preserving it. Altshuler et al. teaches only the ability to heat fat while sparing tissue. Altshuler et al. does not teach that the opposite can be applied under special conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,169 issued Apr. 19, 1994 to Sand and U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,709 issued Dec. 11, 1990 to Sand teach that collagen goes through several stages of alteration when heated. At temperatures lower or around 50° C., collagen is not affected. At about 60° C., collagen may contract and shrink by about 30% without denaturization or permanent damage to the structure. It has been shown that at these temperatures the shrinkage is long term and the collagen remains viable. At temperatures greater than about 65° C. however the collagen will denaturize and lose its elasticity and collapse. When this happens to a connective fiber the fiber may weaken, stretch, and possibly break.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,253 issued Jul. 2, 2002 to Koop et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,451,007 issued Sep. 17, 2002 to Koop et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,274 issued Mar. 23, 1999 to Fullmer et al. teach a mid-IR laser directed to the surface of the skin with energy densities of 10 to 150 J/cm2 and pulse widths of 5 to 500 msec. A pulsed cryogen cooling system is used to protect the epidermis by spraying a burst of R134a cryogen onto the treatment site immediately pre or post laser treatment.
A need exists for a better way to tighten or sculpt skin in plastic surgical procedures. The traditional technique to deal with loose skin is to excise a section of the dermis as in a face-lift or abdominoplasty. This requires a highly skilled surgeon, has risks associated with wound care and anesthesia, and often leaves the patient with a stretched look with thin skin. Non ablative skin tightening techniques that deliver energy through the dermis to shrink or stimulate new collagen are not effective on large areas with a lot of fat or tissue to treat and damage the dermis. Adhesives such as cyanoacrylate (super glue) or fibrin sealants such as Tisseel™ from Baxter Healthcare are used to invasively hold loose skin while it heals in place. These glues are not natural and have many complications.